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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · degree · game · wave · patient · cold · stand · bear

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. content — happy
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. content — the amount
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. cold — an illness
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bear — the animal
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cold — not warm
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com